Cookbooks To Savor

Nigella Lawson: FeastWhat cooking, especially for family and loved-ones is all about.

Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee: Eating KoreanI would place this cookbook in my top 10 of all time. The recipes are delicious and each section is packed with the best of Korean home cooking. The stories are wonderful, too. Highly recommend.

Irma S. Rombauer: The Joy of Cooking (not the "All New", the old school one) I don't so much like this for main dish and salad recipes as for baked goods, sauces, and jams. I have my mother's copy, and when I was about 12, my favorite thing to do was to make tea sandwiches from this cookbook. Every weekend I'd make a couple of different kinds until I worked my way through all the spreads and fillings. A good basic cookbook.

COPYRIGHT

I say I'm not really a baker because I don't have the patience for it, but the truth is, now that my kids are older, I'm liking it more and more.

My kids are at the age where they can "help," and the fact that they love cooking (and love the results, of course) makes me want to do it more. Yes, the reason I bake something every week is because it makes my children deliriously happy. And that makes me happy.

Because I am a "non-measurer," I limit my baking to a few simple (and forgiving) recipes including pies,cobblers, and yeasted and quick breads. When I make cakes, however, I split my time between my favorite recipes and box cakes that are easy and yummy.

These cupcakes were baked for a house-warming present and are from a box. But just because they aren't completely homemade doesn't mean they can't be beautiful. So bake! Even if you think you don't like it, you might find a reason to.

Recently I made some kalbi for friends and thought I'd share the preparation because, well, more people should try it! Consider me on a kalbi mission, sharing the kalbi love with the world.

I stopped at the Korean market to pick up all the ban chan or side dishes (which you can do, too if you live in a bigish city), but the kalbi I always make myself.

I bought some beef ribs (about 10 lbs.) at Costco and they weren't sliced thin enough for the typical preparation. Don't worry, though. My mom always butterflied them so they'd cook more quickly and evenly and you can easily do that if you can't find the thinly sliced ribs required for kalbi.

Here are the essential ingredients for the marinade: soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, honey, asian pear (which I grate), green onions, and garlic. The red-topped contraption is my Japanese sesame seed grinder, available at any Japanese market. You can use a mortar and pestle or food processor to grind your sesame seeds.

In terms of a recipe, I usually eye-ball so I will do my best to explain it. The marinade is for about 10 pounds of ribs. In a large bowl combine: 1 bunch of chopped green onions, 1 grated Asian pear, a good handful of toasted sesame seeds, and another handful of ground, toasted sesame seeds, 8-10 cloves of chopped garlic, and a hefty squeeze of honey. Mix this up then add soy sauce (start with a half cup), and sesame oil (about a quarter to a third cup). Mix again.

The marinade before the ribs are added.

The shortribs. Notice they are cut across the bones.

Butterflying the ribs. Slice each rib lengthwise almost to the bone, the cut crosswise. When putting ribs in the marinade, make sure to work it into all the cracks and crevices.

The meat in the marinade. The way I was taught to make it, the meat should not be swimming in marinade. The ribs should be "damp" or just moistened, so start with a small amount of soy sauce an increase it if you need more liquid. Let them hang out in the marinade at least a couple of hours or up to overnight. Then fire up the grill and cook until desired doneness.

Traditionally, kalbi is served with steamed rice and red or green lettuce leaves to wrap each bite. (You place some meat and rice in the lettuce and wrap up like a burrito. Dip it in ssamjang sauce if you like.) I, of course. forgot to take a photo of the finished ribs, and when I remembered, they were all gone.
This is by far my kids' favorite dish. If you make these, let me know how they turned out!

Reflecting back on last week's "Eat Local Challenge," my main take-away from the experience is to try to be more aware of where all of my food comes from. As I mentioned before—and as many Family Food commenters concurred—it's easy to eat local in Northern California where we have an abundance of fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, poultry, dairy products, wine right in our backyard. Because of that, I realized that most of the time, I am shopping local, intentionally or not.

Since I was doing the penny-wise challenge—spending no more than $144 to feed my family for the week—I was also trying to be budget-conscious. I realize that a lot of people spend far less than that to feed their families of four, but one of the arguments against eating local is that it's expensive. I took a few exceptions (pasta, coffee, condiments, etc.), but for the most part, eating local wasn't more expensive than the way we normally eat (a mixture of organic and non-organic local and non-local foods). Shopping took a bit longer as I carefully considered each purchase, but that is a learning curve that I know will shorten over time.

Speaking of shopping, eating local is one thing, but shopping local is another. For those of us that live in Silicon Valley, I'd love for you to consider where the grocery store you shop at is based. Is it part of our local community or are they just telling us what we want to hear?

One of my favorite local grocers, Country Sun, has been in the same location since I was a kid. When I worked at the language school next door, that's where I had breakfast or lunch. When Whole Foods opened up nearby, I steeled my resolve to shop Country Sun. And did. And all the while I worried that the small store would be shuttered by the competition.

All these years later, Country Sun still survives and thrives. Now that we are back in Silicon Valley, I try to shop there whenever I can. After doing the Eat Local challenge, I'm putting my money where my mouth is and making that my primary grocery store. One thing I love about Country Sun is that every local product in the store is clearly labeled. Items in the fridge and freezer cases are labeled, items on the shelves are labeled. Produce, of course, is labeled. Eating local is a no-brainer when you shop local.

Is it more expensive than Trader Joe's? Sure. But if we all resolved to eat local and shop local, perhaps the prices will come down. I challenge everyone reading this who lives in Silicon Valley to not just eat local, but to shop local, too. No matter where you live, seek out the local grocers in your community. Because they aren't just talking the talk, they are walking the walk in the face of some stiff competition.

I love her because she reminds me so much of my Italian aunt in Rome. I also love that her rustic, unpretentious recipes are accessible to every kind of cook. No one does simple, Italian comfort food better. And she's just as real in person as she seems to be on tv.

I told her that I grew up watching PBS cooking shows (Julia Child and Jacques Pepin) and that now my daughter and I watch her together. She loved that we're sharing experience. "Cook with your children," she said. "Take fresh herbs and hold them up to your daughter's nose and tell her what everything is." Great advice for all parents.

Cooking Gear To Spice Things Up

All-Clad cookwareI use the stainless line. I love it because you can put it in the dishwasher. If you like to cook it is sooo worth it to have quality pots and pans. I recommend buying a set on sale and then filling in extras as you need them. (Watch for sales and specials.)

Cast Iron SkilletPlease get rid of all your teflon-coated non-stick plans and get a cast iron skillet. I use mine for searing meat, poultry, and fish and then finishing off in the oven. In fact, get two cast iron skillets—one large enough to hold two ribeyes and a smaller, fried-egg-sized one for making...well...eggs.

Food ProcessorQuickly slice/shred veggies and cheese, make hummus or other spreads in a snap, and make pie crust without making a mess.

Global KnivesI am partial to the 18 incher. Yep, I like big knives and I cannot lie. If you like to cook (or even if you don't) you deserve to have good knives. At least one.

Instant Hot Water DispenserIf you can't afford to have one built-in, this is a great alternative. It's nice to have boiling water at the push of a button to make tea, instant miso soup, or morning oatmeal for the kidlets.

Microplane Grater/ZesterUse this to grate citrus zest, nutmeg, and cheese. You could get a coarser one, but you don't need to. I have one and I use it for everything.

SilpatSilpat is a silicone mat used for baking. They come in various sizes. Items will not stick to it. It is a must for any home baker.

Stick or Immersion BlenderIt doesn't have to be fancy, but try and get the highest HP you can afford. I use my stick blender (+ attachments) for making salad dressing (weekly), pureeing soups, making babyfood, and whipping cream.